Gaza sniper kills Israeli near border, Israeli military says

CNN — A sniper in Gaza fatally shot an Israeli citizen near the border fence between Gaza and Israel on Tuesday, an Israeli military representative said.

The Israeli was performing maintenance work on the fence when the shooting happened along the northern Gaza border, the military said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying it was a "very grave event, and we will not let it pass over on the order of the day."

"Our policy until now has been to prevent this and to react with strength, and this is how we will react to this case as well," Netanyahu's office said.

The al Qassam Brigades -- the military wing of Hamas, which controls Gaza -- claimed on its Twitter account that the Israeli was a soldier. The Israeli military, however, said the deceased was a civilian.